Chapter 143: Crossing the River

Hearing Li Musheng's question, Hu Rui'an put away the map, his face then revealing a very complex expression; he shook his head and said:

"To not hide it from Your Highness, I had some past grievances and entanglements with Shen Liancheng, the master of the Zhanlu Shanzhuang, so I am somewhat worried about the upcoming journey passing through the 'Zhanlu Shanzhuang'."

Having said this, Hu Rui'an stopped speaking, clearly having no intention of continuing to delve deeper.

Li Musheng raised his eyebrows slightly; judging by the other's expression, this so-called entanglement must be anything but simple, and there was likely an unknown past story within it.

However, he had no interest in investigating this, so he was too lazy to ask any more.

Not long after, Wu Shang returned, his expression looking somewhat unpleasant, and reported:

"The bridge crossing the Julu River ahead is broken for some reason; the people on the bank have all been blocked, and now no carts, horses, or people on the road can cross."

Hearing this, Hu Rui'an frowned, looked up toward the front, and pondered:

"This is the only road leading to Shengzhou in this area; if we take a detour, it will add at least one to two days to the journey."

Saying this, he looked at Wu Shang and asked:

"Are you certain the bridge on the river is completely broken, and there is not the slightest possibility for a carriage to pass?"

Wu Shang nodded lightly and said:

"I saw it with my own eyes; the stone and wood bridge built over the river has been completely washed away. The river is about a hundred zhang wide, and the water is deep and rapid; it seems impossible for carts and horses to ford the river."

Hu Rui'an thought for a moment, then turned to look at Li Musheng, obviously wanting to seek his opinion.

However, just at that moment, a cry of surprise suddenly came from the front; one could hear someone shouting loudly:

"What superb lightness skill! This person actually crossed the river alone!"

Upon hearing these words, several people, including Hu Rui'an and Cao Gaoshan, all showed a change in expression.

"I almost forgot; we have another important mission on this journey. The carts and horses are not urgent matters; discarding them is fine."

Hu Rui'an slowly stroked his beard and spoke; the Thousand-Household Shang Wu, Cheng Zhong, and others all nodded, eager to try, saying:

"Although our lightness skills are not top-notch, crossing a hundred-zhang river surface should be no problem."

Saying this, everyone exchanged glances, then simultaneously turned their heads to look at Li Musheng.

Just as Hu Rui'an was about to speak, Li Musheng waved his hand and said:

"What's the big deal? Then let's just continue forward."

Hearing this, Hu Rui'an nodded lightly and ordered Wu Shang:

"You go ahead and clear the way; first head to the riverbank."

Wu Shang quickly agreed, then while urging his horse forward, he used his martial arts true qi to condense his voice and shout:

"Everyone, please make way!"

His voice penetrated the ears like thunder, making the surrounding crowd's ears ring with a buzzing sound.

For a moment, whether ordinary traveling merchants or martial artists from the Jianghu, everyone realized that this person Wu Shang possessed profound martial arts and was not someone to be trifled with.

One by one, they immediately made way, quickly squeezing out a small path through the crowd of people, horses, and donkeys that a carriage could pass through.

Seeing this, Cao Gaoshan drove the cart forward, following behind Wu Shang and the other person; the surrounding crowd watched this group of theirs and whispered timidly.

Some guessed where they had come from, while others felt that since the road ahead was broken, they still had to squeeze forward, and these people would surely return the way they came in disgrace later.

Meanwhile, inside the carriage, Hu Rui'an took out a human-skin mask and was pressing and smoothing it onto his own face, hurrying to perform a disguise.

Seeing Li Musheng glance at him sideways, Hu Rui'an explained with a calm face:

"The commotion caused by this child Wu Shang is too great; to avoid attracting the attention of the Zhanlu Shanzhuang and causing unnecessary trouble, I think it is better to be cautious."

Hearing this, Murong Xiaoya looked at the other suspiciously, her beautiful eyebrows slightly furrowing, while Li Musheng squinted and smiled:

"If Lord Hu is happy, that is good."

At this time, with Wu Shang clearing the way, the carriage arrived at an open space by the riverbank and stopped.

Many Jianghu people with knives and swords surrounded the bank, while ordinary traveling merchants and passengers were all pushed back behind them.

However, the gaze of these Jianghu people was now almost all fixed on a stone pier ahead.

The stone pier was a bridge pier remaining after the river bridge was destroyed earlier; at this moment, a sword-carrying man wearing a bamboo hat and a green robe was standing on it.

The man was about thirty years old; looking at the surging, rushing river water before him, he took a deep breath, then slightly lowered his body, assuming a posture ready to leap.

Meanwhile, Jianghu people around were pointing and discussing, talking in a flurry.

"Another person attempting to cross the river; just now, besides the old man from the Zhu family of Chuzhou who succeeded, the other two behind him were all swept away by the river water, and there is no sign of them to this day."

"This person is different; he seems to be from the 'Golden Eagle Prefecture'. Their school's lightness skill and sword technique are famous for being powerful in the Jianghu; crossing this river surface should be no problem."

And just while the crowd was speaking, the man in the green robe had already leaped into the air.

After flipping and flying a distance of several zhang, true qi arose beneath his feet; he stepped upon the surging water surface, then like a dragonfly touching the water, leaped again for a distance of several zhang, continuing like this constantly toward the opposite riverbank.

"The Golden Eagle Skill is indeed excellent; the water flow in this section of the river is extremely fast, yet this person can still use martial arts true qi to stabilize his body and move forward, showing he has mastered this movement technique to a very proficient degree."

Hu Rui'an, having changed his appearance, looked through the lifted carriage curtain at the figure on the river surface ahead and commented:

However, just at that moment, an abnormality suddenly occurred.

Just as the crowd saw the other party about to reach the opposite bank, they vaguely saw a black long whip suddenly waved out from somewhere on the opposite bank, striking down through the air toward the man in the green robe.

Fortunately, the man in the green robe reacted quickly, and his movement technique was superb; he suddenly turned around using the surging water surface for leverage, narrowly dodging this strike.

At the same time, as a sound of cold laughter came, a man in black clothes appeared on the opposite bank, having arrived at some unknown time, and said in a deep voice:

"All men under thirty years of age and those who have not yet married are strictly forbidden from crossing the river; if anyone violates this, this will be the consequence."

His voice was spread out by martial arts true qi, clearly entering the ears of the crowd.

And as his words ended, a line of armored soldiers holding iron bows and powerful crossbows suddenly stepped out behind the man in black, each quickly drawing their bows and nocking arrows.

The next moment, as the sharp sound of arrows breaking the air came out, streams of arrows all shot toward that man in the green robe.

Seeing this, the man in the green robe's face changed greatly.

Practicing lightness skill on such a rapid current was already difficult; now encountering an attack, he could hardly cope, so he could only exert himself to dodge and weave, while immediately turning around and quickly treading on the water to return along the original path.

When he barely managed to struggle back to the riverbank with all his might, he collapsed directly onto the ground.

And at this moment, two arrows pierced deep into his flesh and bone, his body soaked in blood.

(End of this chapter)